DictionaryAI

youth

noun
YOOTH/juːθ/

Pluralyouths (some meanings)

4 meanings of youth

Practice

  1. 1
    the youngnoununcountable
    Young people considered collectively, especially as a group within a society.

    The country's youth turned out in large numbers to vote.

    Community centers were built to keep local youth engaged after school.

    UsageWithout a: the youth, local youth mean young people as a group, and can take a plural verb. A youth is one young person.

    Similarteenagers, kids, youngsters, teens, adolescents

    Oppositeelders

  2. 2
    early lifenoununcountable
    The early part of life following childhood and preceding full maturity or adulthood.

    The novel follows a girl through her youth in a quiet coastal town.

    Many people look back on their youth as a carefree and hopeful time.

    UsageUsually with a possessive: in his youth, her youth, look back on one's youth.

    Similaradolescence, teens

    Oppositeadulthood, maturity

  3. 3
    teenagernouncountable
    A young person, especially a teenage boy or young man.

    A youth in a school uniform asked for directions to the station.

    Two youths were seen leaving the building just before noon.

    UsageOften in news and police reports: a youth, two youths. It can sound distant or slightly negative.

  4. 4
    being youngnoununcountable
    The condition or quality of being young rather than old.

    The portrait captured all the freshness and brightness of her youth.

    He spoke with the confidence and vigor of youth.

    UsageOften after of: the energy of youth, and the set phrase the fountain of youth.

    Similaryouthfulness, juvenility

    Oppositeage, senility, dotage

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English youthe, from Old English ġeoguþ ("the state of being young; youth"), going back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic. It corresponds to 'young' plus '-th', a suffix forming abstract nouns, and is related to Dutch jeugd and German Jugend.

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts